Holland coach Ronald Koeman hopes Dutch Liverpool pair Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum emerge as Champions League winners on Saturday.
The duo are due to face Tottenham in the Madrid final this weekend.
And Koeman, scorer of Barcelona’s 1992 European Cup winner, reckons their victory will add more positive vibes to his Dutch squad when they take on England in the Nations League semifinal in Guimaraes, Portugal on June 6.
REDS BOOST: Oranje coach Ronald Koeman. Photo: Michel Utrecht/EPA.
He says: “It would be rather sour if both ended up empty handed after such a formidable season and being so close to huge trophies.
“Van Dijk, Wijnaldum and Liverpool do not deserve that.”
Wijnaldum believes it will be a tough task to beat Spurs in the final, despite edging their rivals 2-1 twice in the Premier League this season.
But he knows that it will mean nothing on Saturday night.
DIFFICULTIES: Georginio Wijnaldum is focused. Photo: Phil Noble/Reuters.
The Dutch midfielder says: “You could see it [how tough Tottenham are], if you look back at the two games we played against them, they were really tough - especially the second one.
“We won in the end, but it could have gone differently in that game.
“They are a really tough team; we’ve faced them a lot of times and every time it has been tough - we have never played against them and it was easy - so we know what we will have to do.”